Manchester’s Other Team

“It’s our worst-ever day,” Sir Alex Ferguson conceded after his Manchester United team lost by a score of 6-1 at home to Manchester City, its archrival, last weekend. It was United’s most lopsided defeat at home since the days of the Great Depression. He added: “It’s the worst result in my history, ever.”

That’s saying something. In his twenty-five years at United—the longest term served by a manager in the history of English football—Ferguson, a red-faced Scot who turned seventy this year, has won thirty-seven trophies. He led the team to its best season ever in 1998-1999, landing all three major titles (known as the “Treble”) as well as a knighthood. Until recently, City was known mostly as the northern city’s “other team.”

Last weekend, United wasn’t just outscored; its fans were drowned in their home stadium by visiting-team supporters chanting: “We’re going to win the league.” City, which was bought by Sheikh Mansour, a member of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family, in 2008—he has since put more than a billion dollars into the team—had one of the most impressive performances of a soccer side to date, beginning with two especially beautiful goals by Mario Balotelli, a player also known for his off-pitch behavior. United is now trailing five points behind City at the top of the English Premier League, leading to speculation that this might be “the end of the Ferguson era.”

Ferguson has been eulogized before. Much like present-day City, the Chelsea squad of the mid-naughts seemed unbreakable, with its Russian oligarch owner, Roman Abramovich, paying record sums to bring in players that wreaked havoc, snatching the championship title from United for two years running. (“STUNNING CHELSEA IN A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN,” read the headlines back then.) Yet United came back strong the following year, with a crop of young players such as Wayne Rooney, Nani, and Ronaldo. United won the 2007 title by a wide six-point margin over Mourinho’s Chelsea and, a year later, United not only beat Chelsea to the championship again, but it also knocked the Londoners out of the UEFA Champions League Final in a tense penalty shootout.

Meanwhile, though, United, owned by the Glazer family (more famous on this side of the Atlantic as owners of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers), slumped into debt, which today amounts to a reported $747 million. The team is now profitable, and has benefitted from record earnings last season. But while the Glazer family counts its billions in single figures, Abramovich’s wealth is estimated at $21 billion and Sheikh Mansour’s family fortune is said to be about $1 trillion.

This could explain rumors that a business group based in Qatar is seeking to buy United—and the Glazer family’s recent decision to change its business model and submit an application to list United stock on the Singapore Exchange. (The reasoning for selling only in Asia is, according to the New York Times, because the club’s popularity there would bring in more money than were it to be sold in London.) Despite those record profits, the Glazers can’t compete with the seemingly endless stream of City money.

Can Mansour turn that money into a championship title? City now has the soccer equivalent of a “best of” compilation that only a mega-billionaire can buy—with players like Balotelli, David Silva, Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and Carlos Tevez. On the other hand, Ferguson, who has raised three generations of world-class players, has a batch of youngsters including Javier Hernandez, Phil Jones, and Chris Smalling. “Money isn’t everything. The Yankees and Phillies have the biggest payrolls in baseball, neither is playing in the World Series,” a former sports executive told Global Post. “Money can only buy you a consistently winning team. It doesn’t guarantee a championship.” Still, judging by City’s 6-1 wiping of United this past weekend, it just might.